'81

Okay I still wish someone would pose an idea about my last post.

But here is something else, much more concrete:

"I lay me by the spring for a spell as naked as a trout" is absolutely positively without a doubt taken from Milton's "Paradise Lost," the great epic about the fall of man and original sin in the Garden of Eden. It's definitely one of those books that all English or Literature majors have to read, and I am positive Joanna would have read it. Plus, how many books would write about someone in Eden lying down beside a stream? I just wrote a ten page paper about gender roles in the poem, and knowing that Joanna is a bookworm and a literary freak, I think I can add some useful insights.

So the story goes that after having been created, but before meeting Adam, Eve wakes up under a tree. She wanders around, clueless, and lies down beside a stream (I freaked out when I read this and connected it to this song - it was one of those "AHA!" lightbulb-going-off moments). As she's lying there, (this gets kinda weird) she sees her reflection and, like Narcissus, is strongly attracted to her image in the water. She lies there for a while until God comes and says, "Hey! Get up! You are not meant to be with this shadow of an image, you are meant to be with Adam! Here, I will lead you to him." (excuse the paraphrasing)

She leaves the stream, but when she sees Adam (again, kinda weird and kinda funny), she says,"Eh, he's not that cute, I'd rather go back to the stream and admire myself," so she turns and tries to run back to the stream. Adam catches her arm and she submits and BAM they are husband/wife.

This story has a lot to do with sexuality, self-love, and the relation/power dynamic between man and woman, all things we know Joanna is fond of grappling with in her songs (especially the last).

In addition to adding these new facets to the song, I think it makes the first four stanzas clear - she is comparing herself to Eve.

The first stanza, she wakes up under the tree and plays around in the dirt, thinking she's alone in the garden, wanders to the stream and lies down. Then the wandering eye could be God, who leads her away, or Adam. In either case, while she is not happy about having to be with him, like Eve, she submits and "hardens her heart to every heart but one," Adam's. (But it could be God too).

All this would mean that the song is, as many have already suggested, a questioning of sexuality. Why MUST sexuality come into the picture when she meets Adam? Why MUST she harden her heart to everyone but him? Couldn't they just be friends? Why is there so much pressure on all of us (esp. women) to find a sexual partner? Maybe we're happier playing alone in the Garden of Eden, blissfully ignorant as children. Is sex like a repetition of the Original Sin? Are we impure and hurting our relationship with God every time we have sex?

I'm not trying to argue like this is the only interpretation - but I think it is a useful way to dredge up a lot of the issues and questions Joanna is grappling with. Reply if you feel compelled!